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llirlliriolil
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*
A
RESOLUTION
PASSED
,B,Y.
TOE
CONSERVATIVE
NEW
YORK
BOARD
OF
TRADE
Whereas
in
recent
years
many
labor
unions
in
the
great
Industrial
Centers
ha\e
been
domin­
ated
by
selfish
leaders
who
have
used
the
Unions
to
cloak
their
nefarious,
an.ti-social
activities
and
hate
evoked
the
principle
of
collective
bargaining,
not
for
the
benefit
of
the
workmen,
but
as
a
means
to
prey
upon
employee
and
employer
alike
and
to
mulct
the
public
generally:
and
Whereas,
the
principals
of
Unionism
have
been
used
as
a
shield
behind
which
the
officer*,
organizei-s
a.id
business
managers
of
many
labor
unions
have
resorted
to
racketeering
on
such
a
scale
as
to
make
this
menace
\the
shame
of
our
\
Cities\;
and
Whereas.
Constituted
authority
has
been
powerless
to
cope
with
the
situation
because
of
immunities
and
privileges
thrown
around
labor
unions;
and
Whereas,
terroristic
tactics
have
been
em­
ployed
by
the
directing
heads
of
many
labor
Unions
who,
by
resort
to
force,
coercion,
assault
and
even
murder,
have
silenced
workmen
and
intimidated
employers
who
have
been
forced
to
pay
tribute
to
them,
there
being
several
recent
instances
where
union
members,
thoroughly
aroused
against
the
arroganre
and
injustice
of
union
officials,
have
become
complaintants
against
such
union
officials,
only
later,
through
intimidation
and
threats,
to
withdraw
as
com-
plainants
in
actions
instigated
by
themselves,
and
refusing
to
appear
even
as
witnesses;
and
Whereas,
public
bodies
such
as
grand
juries
have
indicated
in
no
uncertain
terms
that
racke­
teering
and
labor
unions
have
created
a
financially
powerful
criminal
class
who
wield
tremendous
influence,
in
contemptuous
defiance
of
the
law
and
of
accepted
standards
of
fair
play;
and
Whereas,
the
public
generally,
because
of
racketeering
carried
on
under
the
cloak
of
trade
unionism,
has
been
forced
to
pay
tribute
to
the
gangster
labor
leader
for
the
food
that
it
eats
including
such
items
as
poultry,
loose
milk
and
Kosher
food
products,
tKe
clothes
that
it
wears
and
the
services
utilized
by
it
which
are
so/neces­
sary
to
modern
existence;
and
/
WheTeas,
despite
all
this,
movements
are
on
foot
in
this
country
to
endow
trade
unions
with
added
privileges
under
the
law
and
to
give
the
principle
of
collective
bargaining
a
compulsive
operation;,
and
Whereas,
these
attempts
are
being
made
des-
l>ile
the
fact
that
the
losses
to
the
public
as
a
j
result
of
lacketetringr-most—of—it—car-rie&--on-
through
labor
unions,
(including
the
calling
of
unwarranted,
inter-uniori
jurisdiction
strikes
where
questions
of
wages
arc
not
involved),
is
variously
estimated
at
from
$11,000,000,000
to
$15,000,000,000
a
year,
which
loss
is
an
economic
waste
of
such
tragic
implications
as
to
represent
a
menace
to
the
body
politic
and
to
our
national
economic
structure;
and
Whereas,
because
of
their
favored
position
before
the
law
there
is
practically
no
supervision
of
the
accounts
of
labor
unions
with
the
results
that
no
one,
not
even
the
employees
organized
in
such
unions,
have
any
idea
of
the
tremendous
sums
collected
directly
and
indirectly
by
the
of­
ficers,
organizers,
and
business
managers
of
labor
unions;
and
Whereas,
employers
of
labor
in
practically
all
branches
of
industries
and
commerce
are
required
to
make
exhaustive
reports
to
their
corporate
'
-.stock-holders
and
to
the
federal,
state,
or
munici­
pal
governments
with
reference
to
the
expendi­
ture
or
funds,
salaries
paid,
and
other
details
regarding
business-transactions:
and
Whereas,
because
labor
unions
are
riot^com-
pelled
by
law
to
render
.a
public
accounting
of
their
receipts
and
expenditures,
there
have
r,-
been
instances
reported
in
the
public
press
of'
misap­
propriation
of
funds
and
failure
to
maintain'
ade­
quate
reserves
for
the
payment
of
sick
and
death
benefits
to
members
of
unions,
the
dues
paid
by
whom,
have
been-
diverted
to
other
purposes;
and
Whereas,
in
consequence
of
the
high-handed
and
illegal
and
coercive
policies
of
the
offices,
organizers
and
business
managers
of
many
unions
the'rights
of
employees
have
been
impaired
with
no
wdy'bpen16
J
:
them
to
secure
justice
from
their
oppi-essqi,s;,and,.
i
,
„
Whereas,
because
of
the
entrenched
power
of
the
officers,
organizers
and
business
managers
of
ttHlbris
lit
centers
\of
1
industry
the
members
of
unions
are
powerless
to
insist
that
their
organiza­
tions
be
run
foV'the
benefit
of
all
and
not
for
the
enrichment
of
the
few
who
dominate
them;
and
'Whei'eas.'m
the-interests
of
social
justice
m
the
llnitpS
.States,,fhp
rights
of
workmen
(includ-
•ing
-mip
-irf^hf—fn^afrilfP
wtiprp
int/>|p|-nMp
COndi-
tfo^ls
ejJist)
Should
be
preserved
with
unimpaired
vigor
but
Shduld
n6t
be
exercised
to
satisfy
the
greed
of
union
labor
leaders
who,
in
countless
in­
stances
in
the
past
'few
years,
have
not
hesitated
to
ufc'e
the
threat
of
a
strike
for
purposes
of
ex-
tortiqq;
,,
,
.
.
--NOW
THEREFORE
BE
IT
RESOLVED,
that
'this
orgsmlzatib'n'
believes
that
the
moment
has
arrived
when
tt
must
thr6w
the
whole
weight
of
its
influence
and
prestige
behind
the
efforts
of
courageous
Vublic
1
officials
'who
are
seeking
to
cope
with
the
problem*
of
the
racketeer
in
labor
imirins
and'mo're*
specifically,
'to
do
everything
\Wthin
its
power
to
u/jfe
the
victims
of
the
exist­
ing
system
to
co-operate
with
the
Extraordinary
Grand
Jury,
convened
by
His
Excellency,
Govern­
or
Herbert
H.
Lehman,
to
the
eridjthat
Jt
sftallnot
bb
Hampered
in
its
investigation
\of
\racketeering
In
the
County
of
New
York,
by
the
reluctance
of
witnesses
to
testify
freely,
frankly
and
fully;
and
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED,
That
this
5rgtiniz!ali6n
'believes
that
the
time
has
come
whtin,
to'protect
the
interests
of
workmen
and
employers'
'alike
and
to
secure
the
public
good,
laws
designed
to
do
away
with
the
basic
evils
heretofore
set
forth
which
are
a
matter
of
com­
mon
knowledge,
should
be
enacted
as
follows:
(1)
A
statute
regulating
labor
unions
by
requiring
a
strict
accounting
to
the
union
mem­
bers
for
all
sums
collected
and
expended,
\
(2)'
'Statutes
requiring
the
incorporation
of
labor
unions
and
the
making
of
periodic
reports
to
nppropriate
federal
and
state
authorities
with
refererrci\t'o
financial
transactions
of
such
labor
organizations,
including-
receipts
and
expenditures
in
suitable
detail,
salaries
paid,
number
of
mem­
bers
in
good'-standiruV,
and
.such
other
data
as
may\be
pcHfnefii
oV^deinrkble
in'
order
that
the
JtcbouAitabiljty.a'nyre^ponabih'ty
of
labor
organi-
.
7-atio'h.s
to
ihe'piibKc
Authorities
may
more
neariv
approach
the
accountability
and
responsibility
re^
quired
by
law
oj
employers
of
labor,
(3)
A
Stdtute''^nkiuirin.g
all
voting
'for
strikes
'
~\
that
purpose,
thereby
limit-
,
r
,
nniiJh'officials
to
call
strikes
to
those
cases
inTwhlcK
siic'h
action
is
duly
author­
ized
by\
tKe\
votesf'ot
ifimjority
of
the
members
of
the
Union
ih%ood\standing
and
legally
entitled
to
vote
on
the
proposal
to
strike,
'
(4)
A
I'statute*
authorizing
the
courts
'to
grant
afl-usnifl'^mf'
r
!
appropriate
civil
remedies
against
anV'labor
union
'which
calls,
instigates,
directs'6r
Supjftf%
Srty
strikes
for
unlawful
pur­
poses,
or
ni^rkibUiSif
fif
agreement
or
against
any
libor'-untth^itti
;calls
or
aids
any
strike*
\except
for
the
accomplishment
of
direct
or
law­
ful
benefits
for
.th,e
strikers\—
AWd'-ftr
so''many
words
or
in
some
instances
even''m^ort'and
'Kfesher\words
the
American
agenriesrwhiiih
'have
as\
a
1
first
duty
the
promotion
of
busute^*'aitdprbsperity
s
J
from
coast
to
coast
have
repeatedly
spoken
in
this
racketeers'
era.
'H6'nest
L
labor
has
reason
to
be
thoroughly
bored'
with
a
maudlin'brand
of
sympathy
which
racketeers'
have
turtle^
to
Its
obvious
disadvan­
tages'.
\
\What
If,'
industry
in
the
nation,
needs
is
intelligent'
action:
by'
labor's
top
leaders—by
fear­
less
Courts
and
by
tWo-timing
and
pussyfooting
legislators
hi
the
prompt
correction
of
a
great
nation's
costliest
and
most
intolerable
nuisance.
ing.duly
noticed
for
NELSONfSPARKS;
FORMER
AKRON
MAYOR,
.XELiS
ABOtlT
UNIONS
If
it
can
happen
-In
Akron,
can
It
happen
here?
t
Former
Mayor
C.
Nelson
Sparka
of
Akron,
Ohio,
tells
in
\Liberty\
(Sept.
24,
1938,
itaue)
how
Labor
Unions
nave
caused
havoc
to
that
city.
Prior
to
1936,
Akron
was.-a
prosperous
city
whose
rubber
fac­
tories
produced
*7y„
of
the
world's
rubber
goods.'
Workers
received
from
87.5
cents
to'
$1.11
3-10
an
hour
for
a
32.4-hbur
week,
a>
compared
with
an
average
of
all
industries
throughout
the
nation
of
S6.4
cents
an
hour
for
an
average
of
a
38-2-hour
week.
A
portion
of
Mayor
Sparks
1
article
follows:
_
Into
this
situation
came
John
L.
Lewis
and
the
C.I.O.
That
was
In
February
of
-1934V-
Akron
'i
story
for
the
next
two
years
la
a
sordid
tale
of
suicides,
broken
homes,
evictions,
foreclosures,
privation,
and
want,
of
destruction
of
private
property
and
violence
to
workingmen
whose
only
crime
wa*
that
they
wanted
to
work,
of
bomb­
ings,
shootings,
stabbings,
kidnap­
pings,
and
threats
to
women
and
children.
Thirteen
major
strikes
have
oc-
ciired
during
this
two-year
reign
of
terror.
Innumerable
sit-downs
.and
minor
departmental
^
strikes
have
caused
loss
of
many
millions
of
hours
in
wage*
and
production.
The
most
recent
outbreak,
a
very
bloody
affair
at
the
Goodyear
plant,
totaled
three
persons
shot
and
47
In
need
of
hospital
attention.
In
all,
more
than
11,000,000
hours
of'
wages
apd
production
have
been
lost
to
workers,
stockholders
and
general
public
since
Mr.
Lewis'
C.I.O.
came
to
town.
And
with
what
result?
The
city
that
once
gave
Jull-tlme
employment
to
75,000
satisfied,
pros­
perous
factory,
porker
s
now
gives
part-time
employment
to
a
frightened
(intimidated
25,<X».
the
city
that
once
manufactured
67V,
of
the
world
's
rubber
goods
now
manufactures
barely
30%.
The
city
that
increased
In
population
360y
r
Ip
20
years
it
now
rapidly
liquidating.
Real-estate
values
have
dropped
50%
Homes
are
offered
at
public
sale
and
find
no
bidders.
Thirty
per
cent
of
the
city's
dwell­
ings
are
now,
owned
by
banks,
build-
ing-and-loan
associations,
insurance
and*
mortgage
companies,
and
the
Federal.
Home
Owner's
Loan
Corpor­
ation
through
foreclosures,
which
for
this
quarter
of
1938
ar.e
fast
reaching
a
new
high.
Tenant
evictions
and
chattel-mort­
gage
^poMtssions
of
home
equipment
have,
created
such
city-wide
distress
that
recsntljra
municipal
judge
urged
the
.state'
legislature
to
enact
mora-
torium
legislation,
light
and
gas
meters
and
phone
service
Indicate*
a
rapfdly'declining
population.
School
enrollment
Is
shrinking
by
the
thou­
sand,
and
transportation
companies
are
operating
at
a
heavy
loss.
Mil­
lions
of
.dollars
have
been
lost
t
o
the
community
through
the
cessation
of
production
,whlch
has
been
forced
to
go
elsewhere.
Two-third*
of
the
tire
production
of
two
of
Akron's
largest
rubber
com­
panies
is
now
done
In
other
states.
Miles
of
useless
brick
walls,
acres
of
vacant
ffoor
space,
thousands
o'f
empty
bolt
hole*—where
once
stood
whirled,
and
hummed
calendars,
con­
veyors,
.and.
rubber-curling
equipment
—testify
to,
a
city's
desolation.
Thousands
of
former
highly
paid
rubber
workers
are
now
working
on
WPA
for
*«0
a
month.
Eighty-eight
thousand
persons—
more
than
a
third
of
the
city's
pop­
ulation—are
on
relief.
Again
th*
figures
quoted
are
not
mine.
They
are
spread
on
the
rec­
ord*
of
the
official
bureaus
and
authorities-—is
a
matter
of
fact,
on
the
records
of
the
very
oVganizatlon
that
caused
them
to
exist.
Lewis'
strategy
was
to
tie
up
the
major
tire
Industrie*
of
Akron,
there­
by
paving
the
way
for
his
planned
Invasion
of
the
automotive
Industry
in
Detroit
He'
called
together
the
chief
lieutenants
of
his
shock
troops
—all
nationally
known
radicals—and
Instructed
them
to
invade
Akron
and
crack
the
rubber
industry
wide
open
through
an
attack
upon
the
Goodyear
Tire
and
Rubber
Company.
This
company,
in
common
with
the
other
Akron
rubber
edmpanlet,
had
had
no
serious
labor
troubles
for
23
years.
It
was
an
Institution
enjoying
a
world-wide
reputation
for
its
friehti-
ly
satisfactory,
and
successful
indus­
trial
relations
with
It*
15,000
workers.
It
was
a
great
industry,
whose
piant
operation*
were-governed
by
a
demo­
cratic
system
of
employee
rijle—one
of
those
much-libeled
company
unions.
It
Jiad
enjoyed
a
national
reputation
for
having
created
every
known
agency
for
the
betterment
of
Its
employees.
Such
was
the
organisation
eele
-ed
by
Mr
Lewis
for
nis
first
expert
nent
on
the
Akron
guinea
pig.
The
attack
began
on
the
night
of
February
17,
1936,\
when
less
than
200
Goodyear
workers,
upon
jnstruc-
-tlons—from--outside
C.I.O.-organlacrs,
went
on
strike
against
alleged
griev­
ances
which
would\
normally
Rave
\
been
referred
to
the
workers'
own
representatives
for
peaceful
adjudica­
tion
with
company
officials.
Before
the
strike
ended,
the
local
Rubber
Workers
Union,
then
an
A
F
of
L.
affiliate,
-luthorized
it
and
later
became
affiliated
with
the
CI
O.
But
this
new
method
of
attacking
an
industry
first
by
outside
organizers
was
used—and
is
still
used—by
Mr
Lewis
as
a
defense
against
court
in­
junctions
secured
by
corporations
against
local
unions'
strike
activities.
The
outside
organizers
immediately
sent
out
calls
t
o
near-by
cities.
Three
thousand
pickets,
nany
of
them
coal
miners
and
steelwprkers
from
outside
cities
were
massed.
Communist
agi­
tators
from
Cleveland,
Canton
and
Youngstown
were
included
among
them.
i
These
imported
volunteers,
with
a
few
radical
workers,
threw
up
tents
and
huts
on
East
Market
St.,
facing
the
Goodyear
Company
plant,
:
and,
arming
themselves,
remain
in
pos-
seialon
of
the
highway
for
(no
dura
tion
of
the
six-weeks'
strike.
Then
began
the
usual
intimidation,
violence,
threats.
Fifteen
hundred
men
were
locked
In
the
plant,
unable
to
leave
in
safety
Wives
and
chil­
dren
of
these
men
were
visited
by
strong-arm
squads
who
made
threats.
Many
of
the
homes
of
the
loyal
work­
ers
were
damaged.
The
Goodyear
Tire
and
Rubber
Company
obtained
an
Injunction
against
the
mass
picketers
at
the
plant
gates.
But
the
C.I.O.
agitators
ignored
the
court
order
and
defied
public
officials
to'
enforce
1t.
Van.
dafism
continued,
there
were
four
weeks
of
terrorism.
Within
the
last
two
years
tt\e
Fire­
stone
Tire
and
Rubber
Company
has
sold
its
battery
plant,
purchased,
a
plant
with
about
2,000.000
square
feet
of
floor
space
in
Fall
River,
Mass.,
constructing
a
new
steel
products
plant
in
Riverview,
Mich.,
built
a
new
rubber
factory
In
Detroit,
,and
pur.
over
the
country
hoping
to
partici­
pate
In
the
decentralization
scram­
ble;
and
every
one
of
these
commit­
tees
presents
the
impressive
argument
that
its
city
has
courageous
public
officials
and
law-abiding
workers,
and
that
-Lewis'
tactic
sare
not
-welcome
there.
That
sg.ch
promises
can
be
kept
by
an
alert
and
militant
community
is
show\
by
the
Goodyear
Company's
experience
in
Gadsden,
Ala.
Of
bourse
the
United
Rubber
Worker*
Union,
which
had
become
affiliated
with
the
C.I.O.
shortly
after
tjie
,beginning
of
the
first
Goodyear
strike,
promptly
increased
its
organizing
forces
and
marched
on
Gadsden.
Offices
were
opened
In
the
heart
of
the
city
and
the
union
-started
immediately
f
n
pro,
mote
Industrial
organization
through
fhe
same
methods
Tl
had
been
trained
to
use
in
Akron
However,
this
Northern
raid
upon
a
Southern
industrial
community
met
with
an
'entirely
different
^reception.
The
workers
themselves—members
of
the
Etowah
County
Rubber
Work-
trs
Independent
Union
at
Gadsden—
fearful
for
their
Jobs,
marched
upon
the
offices
of
the
outside
organizers,
dismantled
them,
rounded
up
the
C
I.O
leaders,
and
ran
them
all
out
of
town.
Personally,
I
am
a
man
of
peace
But
I
do
believe
that
the
only
Way
to
keep
John
L.
Lewis'
cohorts
from
ruining
your
town
is
to
keep
them
out
of
it.
That
this
can
be
done
without
vio­
lence-l>y
any
city
possessing,.*
wise
government,
an
alert
Chamber
of
Commence,
a
courageous
police
de­
partment,
and
a
public-spirited
press
has
now
been
proved
In
more
than
one
community
,
-
.
If
Akron
had
had
sufficient
civic
and
governmental
and
jouvnallstlc
defense
equipment,
Mr.
Lewi's'would
have
hesitated,
even
In
1936,
t
o
throw
his
imported
legions
into
the-
peace-
Even
with
the
defense
equipment
that
Akron
did
have,
if
the'
Secre­
tary
of
Labor
and
the
National
Labor
Relations
Board
In
Washington
ana
the
governor
and
legislature
in
Co­
lumbus
had
lent
us
a
helping
hand,
wo
might
have
successfully
repulsed
the
invading
outsiders.
I
have
avoided
whenever
passible,
mention
of
the
word
Communism,
It
is
a
fact
that
whenever
Lewi*'
forces
captured
an
Akron
piant
by
sit-downs
cr
strikes
attended
by
violence
and
destruction
of
property,
known
to
Communist
leaders
were
always
in
the
background.
It
Is
certainly
not
the
Akron
manu­
facturer's
fault
that
they
had
to
do
their
decentralizing
at
the
muzzle
of
a
dictator's
gun.
Some
criticism,
however,
may
be
due
to
Akron
rub­
ber
manufacturer*
for
not
haying
said
convincingly
and
frankly,
at
the
be-
1
-^ta<ea
ana'
recTOisTructed
a
model
n
••Mlkiiring-tnHU-fatiui
dhrtuibaijt.es
Uis(
rubber
tlr*
plant
In
Memphis,
T*nn>.
\unless
order
Is
restored,
econdmTc
'
No
one
can
justly
blame
the
Fire-
tea»°n«_vvll
force
u»
t
o
move
out
of
Akron.\
In
.another
crisis
tha£
surely
should
be,done.
,
-Until.
thl«r
article
appear*,
It
)•
safe
tq
*»y,
that
not
more
,t[\an
5<\A
of
-the.
people
of
Akron
haVe
known
that
approximately
twp-thlrd^.of
Its
tfre
,
production
ha*
left
the'
.city—In
all
probability
for
-good.
*
f,
_,
Can
Akron
come
back?
I
fiope
so,
and
In.
njy..more
optimistic
rr>ojn«nti,
I
'believe
so.
New
Industrie*
may
rise.
In
i
more
.peaceful
times-.
<
Meanwhile
Akron
cannot
hold
what
little
produftlon.lt
ha*
leftliuotll
it
closer'|t*
doors
to
a
labor
le
»cJ*rih
|p
that
.depend*-upon
v(*l*ntt>Mjd•
de­
structive
force*
from,
other
cities
to
assist
-In,
frightening
both
labor
and
industry.
v
•
-J
-
i.
.Akr0n
.can
.n9t
obtain
new
industries
a*;
Jong
,asr.lt
pat*
on
the-wba'dk
a
labor
(Mdership
that
periodically
creates
strife
to
boast
payment
of
union
dues.
>
i
....
And
-neither
tc*n
your
city
ter
'tgwril
A*.-8hoewo.rker*
you
are
receiving
the
highest
average
wage
of'any
shoe
manufacturing
community
Jjn
the
state.
The
State
Department
oif
Labor
reported
.Nov.
4
.
1983,
.that
the
aver.,
age
weekly
wage
in
the
TrlpYsjCjtlea
was
$23.34
as
compared
with
\
$18.03
In
Rochester
and
S20.43
In
NevV.York
city.
•
\
'
D$n
'tf
*lgn
your
name
to
*iu!tlifng
that^.wlll
bring
about
a
condition
such
as
C.
Nelson
Sparks
tells
of
Akron.
Learn
what,ha*
happened
Ip.
other
communities
before
you
bring
the
same
condition
to
your
own
com-
rriwnfty.
•
H
«**•
-\ft**
stone
Company
for
taking
these
measure*
for
self-preservation.
.The
Goodyear,
Goodrich,
and
-the
fSeneraJ
Tire
and
Rubber
.CompanlesJIkewice
have
had
ne
recourse
but
to
look
more
and
more
to
production
facili.
tie*
outside
of
Akron,
,
;
.
.
The
Goodyear
Company,
for
in­
stance—convinced
that
Akron
had
definitely
become
a
\hot
town\—be­
gan
In,
1936
to
expand
tire,
production
in
Its
Cumberland,
Md
.i
Gadsden,
Ala.,
and
Los
Angeles,
Calif.,
plants.
•
.Gadsden
today,
at
Akron's
expense,
produce*,
mpre
than
,'10,000
tjres
and
6,000
tubes
daily,
and
this
without
any
Interruption
from
the.
strikes.
By
November
16,
1936,
the
Good-
year
-Company
had
moved
alt
of
It*
boot
and
heel
business
to
Windsor,
Vt,
pn
August
7,
1937,
It
opened
for
pr»duct)on
a
most
up-to-date
tire
plant
at
Jackson,
Mich.
«.
Every
time
one
of
these
great
plants
opens
in
\outside
.areas,\
Ak­
ron
sinks
deeper
still
Into
despair.
And
the
end
is
not
yet.
Akron's
smaller
Industries
are
discovering
that
there
are
several
thousand
un-
hood|umlzed
communities
in
the.
U
.
S.
with
alert
Chamber*
of
Commerce
and
business
groups,
far-sighting
pub­
lic
officials
and
ambitious
citizens,
all
waiting
and
anxious
to
offer
new
Industries
every
known
Inducement
to
move
In,
And
they,
too,
are
.leav­
ing.
Once
a
mecca
for
tourists,
sight,
seers
and
scientists
from
all
over
the
world,
Akron
is
now
a
mecca
for
alert
committees
ind
secretarie*—all.
•
Worf
If'V
^1

Newspaper Page Text

ENRtedTfr -t^LY : BULLETIN - : . . _ • . i.. - , i ,-L„_tf„ —rrr r Hererfe frfeboqgHSe! Bljtid As Th Who Can Do Not m \ #1 llirlliriolil J * A RESOLUTION PASSED ,B,Y. TOE CONSERVATIVE NEW YORK BOARD OF TRADE Whereas in recent years many labor unions in the great Industrial Centers ha\e been domin­ ated by selfish leaders who have used the Unions to cloak their nefarious, an.ti-social activities and hate evoked the principle of collective bargaining, not for the benefit of the workmen, but as a means to prey upon employee and employer alike and to mulct the public generally: and Whereas, the principals of Unionism have been used as a shield behind which the officer*, organizei-s a.id business managers of many labor unions have resorted to racketeering on such a scale as to make this menace \the shame of our \ Cities\; and Whereas. Constituted authority has been powerless to cope with the situation because of immunities and privileges thrown around labor unions; and Whereas, terroristic tactics have been em­ ployed by the directing heads of many labor Unions who, by resort to force, coercion, assault and even murder, have silenced workmen and intimidated employers who have been forced to pay tribute to them, there being several recent instances where union members, thoroughly aroused against the arroganre and injustice of union officials, have become complaintants against such union officials, only later, through intimidation and threats, to withdraw as com- plainants in actions instigated by themselves, and refusing to appear even as witnesses; and Whereas, public bodies such as grand juries have indicated in no uncertain terms that racke­ teering and labor unions have created a financially powerful criminal class who wield tremendous influence, in contemptuous defiance of the law and of accepted standards of fair play; and Whereas, the public generally, because of racketeering carried on under the cloak of trade unionism, has been forced to pay tribute to the gangster labor leader for the food that it eats including such items as poultry, loose milk and Kosher food products, tKe clothes that it wears and the services utilized by it which are so/neces­ sary to modern existence; and / WheTeas, despite all this, movements are on foot in this country to endow trade unions with added privileges under the law and to give the principle of collective bargaining a compulsive operation;, and Whereas, these attempts are being made des- l>ile the fact that the losses to the public as a j result of lacketetringr-most—of—it—car-rie&--on- through labor unions, (including the calling of unwarranted, inter-uniori jurisdiction strikes where questions of wages arc not involved), is variously estimated at from $11,000,000,000 to $15,000,000,000 a year, which loss is an economic waste of such tragic implications as to represent a menace to the body politic and to our national economic structure; and Whereas, because of their favored position before the law there is practically no supervision of the accounts of labor unions with the results that no one, not even the employees organized in such unions, have any idea of the tremendous sums collected directly and indirectly by the of­ ficers, organizers, and business managers of labor unions; and Whereas, employers of labor in practically all branches of industries and commerce are required to make exhaustive reports to their corporate ' -.stock-holders and to the federal, state, or munici­ pal governments with reference to the expendi­ ture or funds, salaries paid, and other details regarding business-transactions: and Whereas, because labor unions are riot^com- pelled by law to render .a public accounting of their receipts and expenditures, there have r,- been instances reported in the public press of' misap­ propriation of funds and failure to maintain' ade­ quate reserves for the payment of sick and death benefits to members of unions, the dues paid by whom, have been- diverted to other purposes; and Whereas, in consequence of the high-handed and illegal and coercive policies of the offices, organizers and business managers of many unions the'rights of employees have been impaired with no wdy'bpen16 J : them to secure justice from their oppi-essqi,s;,and,. i , „ Whereas, because of the entrenched power of the officers, organizers and business managers of ttHlbris lit centers \of 1 industry the members of unions are powerless to insist that their organiza­ tions be run foV'the benefit of all and not for the enrichment of the few who dominate them; and 'Whei'eas.'m the-interests of social justice m the llnitpS .States,,fhp rights of workmen (includ- •ing -mip -irf^hf—fn^afrilfP wtiprp int/>|p|-nMp COndi- tfo^ls ejJist) Should be preserved with unimpaired vigor but Shduld n6t be exercised to satisfy the greed of union labor leaders who, in countless in­ stances in the past 'few years, have not hesitated to ufc'e the threat of a strike for purposes of ex- tortiqq; ,, , . . --NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that 'this orgsmlzatib'n' believes that the moment has arrived when tt must thr6w the whole weight of its influence and prestige behind the efforts of courageous Vublic 1 officials 'who are seeking to cope with the problem* of the racketeer in labor imirins and'mo're* specifically, 'to do everything \Wthin its power to u/jfe the victims of the exist­ ing system to co-operate with the Extraordinary Grand Jury, convened by His Excellency, Govern­ or Herbert H. Lehman, to the eridjthat Jt sftallnot bb Hampered in its investigation \of \racketeering In the County of New York, by the reluctance of witnesses to testify freely, frankly and fully; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this 5rgtiniz!ali6n 'believes that the time has come whtin, to'protect the interests of workmen and employers' 'alike and to secure the public good, laws designed to do away with the basic evils heretofore set forth which are a matter of com­ mon knowledge, should be enacted as follows: (1) A statute regulating labor unions by requiring a strict accounting to the union mem­ bers for all sums collected and expended, \ (2)' 'Statutes requiring the incorporation of labor unions and the making of periodic reports to nppropriate federal and state authorities with refererrci\t'o financial transactions of such labor organizations, including- receipts and expenditures in suitable detail, salaries paid, number of mem­ bers in good'-standiruV, and .such other data as may\be pcHfnefii oV^deinrkble in' order that the JtcbouAitabiljty.a'nyre^ponabih'ty of labor organi- . 7-atio'h.s to ihe'piibKc Authorities may more neariv approach the accountability and responsibility re^ quired by law oj employers of labor, (3) A Stdtute''^nkiuirin.g all voting 'for strikes ' ~\ that purpose, thereby limit- , r , nniiJh'officials to call strikes to those cases inTwhlcK siic'h action is duly author­ ized by\ tKe\ votesf'ot ifimjority of the members of the Union ih%ood\standing and legally entitled to vote on the proposal to strike, ' (4) A I'statute* authorizing the courts 'to grant afl-usnifl'^mf' r ! appropriate civil remedies against anV'labor union 'which calls, instigates, directs'6r Supjftf% Srty strikes for unlawful pur­ poses, or ni^rkibUiSif fif agreement or against any libor'-untth^itti ;calls or aids any strike* \except for the accomplishment of direct or law­ ful benefits for .th,e strikers\— AWd'-ftr so''many words or in some instances even''m^ort'and 'Kfesher\words the American agenriesrwhiiih 'have as\ a 1 first duty the promotion of busute^*'aitdprbsperity s J from coast to coast have repeatedly spoken in this racketeers' era. 'H6'nest L labor has reason to be thoroughly bored' with a maudlin'brand of sympathy which racketeers' have turtle^ to Its obvious disadvan­ tages'. \ \What If,' industry in the nation, needs is intelligent' action: by' labor's top leaders—by fear­ less Courts and by tWo-timing and pussyfooting legislators hi the prompt correction of a great nation's costliest and most intolerable nuisance. ing.duly noticed for NELSONfSPARKS; FORMER AKRON MAYOR, .XELiS ABOtlT UNIONS If it can happen -In Akron, can It happen here? t Former Mayor C. Nelson Sparka of Akron, Ohio, tells in \Liberty\ (Sept. 24, 1938, itaue) how Labor Unions nave caused havoc to that city. Prior to 1936, Akron was.-a prosperous city whose rubber fac­ tories produced *7y„ of the world's rubber goods.' Workers received from 87.5 cents to' $1.11 3-10 an hour for a 32.4-hbur week, a> compared with an average of all industries throughout the nation of S6.4 cents an hour for an average of a 38-2-hour week. A portion of Mayor Sparks 1 article follows: _ Into this situation came John L. Lewis and the C.I.O. That was In February of -1934V- Akron 'i story for the next two years la a sordid tale of suicides, broken homes, evictions, foreclosures, privation, and want, of destruction of private property and violence to workingmen whose only crime wa* that they wanted to work, of bomb­ ings, shootings, stabbings, kidnap­ pings, and threats to women and children. Thirteen major strikes have oc- ciired during this two-year reign of terror. Innumerable sit-downs .and minor departmental ^ strikes have caused loss of many millions of hours in wage* and production. The most recent outbreak, a very bloody affair at the Goodyear plant, totaled three persons shot and 47 In need of hospital attention. In all, more than 11,000,000 hours of' wages apd production have been lost to workers, stockholders and general public since Mr. Lewis' C.I.O. came to town. And with what result? The city that once gave Jull-tlme employment to 75,000 satisfied, pros­ perous factory, porker s now gives part-time employment to a frightened (intimidated 25,<X». the city that once manufactured 67V, of the world 's rubber goods now manufactures barely 30%. The city that increased In population 360y r Ip 20 years it now rapidly liquidating. Real-estate values have dropped 50% Homes are offered at public sale and find no bidders. Thirty per cent of the city's dwell­ ings are now, owned by banks, build- ing-and-loan associations, insurance and* mortgage companies, and the Federal. Home Owner's Loan Corpor­ ation through foreclosures, which for this quarter of 1938 ar.e fast reaching a new high. Tenant evictions and chattel-mort­ gage ^poMtssions of home equipment have, created such city-wide distress that recsntljra municipal judge urged the .state' legislature to enact mora- torium legislation, light and gas meters and phone service Indicate* a rapfdly'declining population. School enrollment Is shrinking by the thou­ sand, and transportation companies are operating at a heavy loss. Mil­ lions of .dollars have been lost t o the community through the cessation of production ,whlch has been forced to go elsewhere. Two-third* of the tire production of two of Akron's largest rubber com­ panies is now done In other states. Miles of useless brick walls, acres of vacant ffoor space, thousands o'f empty bolt hole*—where once stood whirled, and hummed calendars, con­ veyors, .and. rubber-curling equipment —testify to, a city's desolation. Thousands of former highly paid rubber workers are now working on WPA for *«0 a month. Eighty-eight thousand persons— more than a third of the city's pop­ ulation—are on relief. Again th* figures quoted are not mine. They are spread on the rec­ ord* of the official bureaus and authorities-—is a matter of fact, on the records of the very oVganizatlon that caused them to exist. Lewis' strategy was to tie up the major tire Industrie* of Akron, there­ by paving the way for his planned Invasion of the automotive Industry in Detroit He' called together the chief lieutenants of his shock troops —all nationally known radicals—and Instructed them to invade Akron and crack the rubber industry wide open through an attack upon the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. This company, in common with the other Akron rubber edmpanlet, had had no serious labor troubles for 23 years. It was an Institution enjoying a world-wide reputation for its friehti- ly satisfactory, and successful indus­ trial relations with It* 15,000 workers. It was a great industry, whose piant operation* were-governed by a demo­ cratic system of employee rijle—one of those much-libeled company unions. It Jiad enjoyed a national reputation for having created every known agency for the betterment of Its employees. Such was the organisation eele -ed by Mr Lewis for nis first expert nent on the Akron guinea pig. The attack began on the night of February 17, 1936,\ when less than 200 Goodyear workers, upon jnstruc- -tlons—from--outside C.I.O.-organlacrs, went on strike against alleged griev­ ances which would\ normally Rave \ been referred to the workers' own representatives for peaceful adjudica­ tion with company officials. Before the strike ended, the local Rubber Workers Union, then an A F of L. affiliate, -luthorized it and later became affiliated with the CI O. But this new method of attacking an industry first by outside organizers was used—and is still used—by Mr Lewis as a defense against court in­ junctions secured by corporations against local unions' strike activities. The outside organizers immediately sent out calls t o near-by cities. Three thousand pickets, nany of them coal miners and steelwprkers from outside cities were massed. Communist agi­ tators from Cleveland, Canton and Youngstown were included among them. i These imported volunteers, with a few radical workers, threw up tents and huts on East Market St., facing the Goodyear Company plant, : and, arming themselves, remain in pos- seialon of the highway for (no dura tion of the six-weeks' strike. Then began the usual intimidation, violence, threats. Fifteen hundred men were locked In the plant, unable to leave in safety Wives and chil­ dren of these men were visited by strong-arm squads who made threats. Many of the homes of the loyal work­ ers were damaged. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company obtained an Injunction against the mass picketers at the plant gates. But the C.I.O. agitators ignored the court order and defied public officials to' enforce 1t. Van. dafism continued, there were four weeks of terrorism. Within the last two years tt\e Fire­ stone Tire and Rubber Company has sold its battery plant, purchased, a plant with about 2,000.000 square feet of floor space in Fall River, Mass., constructing a new steel products plant in Riverview, Mich., built a new rubber factory In Detroit, ,and pur. over the country hoping to partici­ pate In the decentralization scram­ ble; and every one of these commit­ tees presents the impressive argument that its city has courageous public officials and law-abiding workers, and that -Lewis' tactic sare not -welcome there. That sg.ch promises can be kept by an alert and militant community is show\ by the Goodyear Company's experience in Gadsden, Ala. Of bourse the United Rubber Worker* Union, which had become affiliated with the C.I.O. shortly after tjie ,beginning of the first Goodyear strike, promptly increased its organizing forces and marched on Gadsden. Offices were opened In the heart of the city and the union -started immediately f n pro, mote Industrial organization through fhe same methods Tl had been trained to use in Akron However, this Northern raid upon a Southern industrial community met with an 'entirely different ^reception. The workers themselves—members of the Etowah County Rubber Work- trs Independent Union at Gadsden— fearful for their Jobs, marched upon the offices of the outside organizers, dismantled them, rounded up the C I.O leaders, and ran them all out of town. Personally, I am a man of peace But I do believe that the only Way to keep John L. Lewis' cohorts from ruining your town is to keep them out of it. That this can be done without vio­ lence-l>y any city possessing,.* wise government, an alert Chamber of Commence, a courageous police de­ partment, and a public-spirited press has now been proved In more than one community , - . If Akron had had sufficient civic and governmental and jouvnallstlc defense equipment, Mr. Lewi's'would have hesitated, even In 1936, t o throw his imported legions into the- peace- Even with the defense equipment that Akron did have, if the' Secre­ tary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board In Washington ana the governor and legislature in Co­ lumbus had lent us a helping hand, wo might have successfully repulsed the invading outsiders. I have avoided whenever passible, mention of the word Communism, It is a fact that whenever Lewi*' forces captured an Akron piant by sit-downs cr strikes attended by violence and destruction of property, known to Communist leaders were always in the background. It Is certainly not the Akron manu­ facturer's fault that they had to do their decentralizing at the muzzle of a dictator's gun. Some criticism, however, may be due to Akron rub­ ber manufacturer* for not haying said convincingly and frankly, at the be- 1 -^ta<ea ana' recTOisTructed a model n ••Mlkiiring-tnHU-fatiui dhrtuibaijt.es Uis( rubber tlr* plant In Memphis, T*nn>. \unless order Is restored, econdmTc ' No one can justly blame the Fire- tea»°n«_vvll force u» t o move out of Akron.\ In .another crisis tha£ surely should be,done. , -Until. thl«r article appear*, It )• safe tq *»y, that not more ,t[\an 5<\A of -the. people of Akron haVe known that approximately twp-thlrd^.of Its tfre , production ha* left the' .city—In all probability for -good. * f, _, Can Akron come back? I fiope so, and In. njy..more optimistic rr>ojn«nti, I 'believe so. New Industrie* may rise. In i more .peaceful times-. < Meanwhile Akron cannot hold what little produftlon.lt ha* leftliuotll it closer'|t* doors to a labor le »cJ*rih |p that .depend*-upon v(*l*ntt>Mjd• de­ structive force* from, other cities to assist -In, frightening both labor and industry. v • -J - i. .Akr0n .can .n9t obtain new industries a*; Jong ,asr.lt pat* on the-wba'dk a labor (Mdership that periodically creates strife to boast payment of union dues. > i .... And -neither tc*n your city ter 'tgwril A*.-8hoewo.rker* you are receiving the highest average wage of'any shoe manufacturing community Jjn the state. The State Department oif Labor reported .Nov. 4 . 1983, .that the aver., age weekly wage in the TrlpYsjCjtlea was $23.34 as compared with \ $18.03 In Rochester and S20.43 In NevV.York city. • \ ' D$n 'tf *lgn your name to *iu!tlifng that^.wlll bring about a condition such as C. Nelson Sparks tells of Akron. Learn what,ha* happened Ip. other communities before you bring the same condition to your own com- rriwnfty. • H «**• -\ft** stone Company for taking these measure* for self-preservation. .The Goodyear, Goodrich, and -the fSeneraJ Tire and Rubber .CompanlesJIkewice have had ne recourse but to look more and more to production facili. tie* outside of Akron, , ; . . The Goodyear Company, for in­ stance—convinced that Akron had definitely become a \hot town\—be­ gan In, 1936 to expand tire, production in Its Cumberland, Md .i Gadsden, Ala., and Los Angeles, Calif., plants. • .Gadsden today, at Akron's expense, produce*, mpre than ,'10,000 tjres and 6,000 tubes daily, and this without any Interruption from the. strikes. By November 16, 1936, the Good- year -Company had moved alt of It* boot and heel business to Windsor, Vt, pn August 7, 1937, It opened for pr»duct)on a most up-to-date tire plant at Jackson, Mich. «. Every time one of these great plants opens in \outside .areas,\ Ak­ ron sinks deeper still Into despair. And the end is not yet. Akron's smaller Industries are discovering that there are several thousand un- hood|umlzed communities in the. U . S. with alert Chamber* of Commerce and business groups, far-sighting pub­ lic officials and ambitious citizens, all waiting and anxious to offer new Industries every known Inducement to move In, And they, too, are .leav­ ing. Once a mecca for tourists, sight, seers and scientists from all over the world, Akron is now a mecca for alert committees ind secretarie*—all. • Worf If'V ^1